Introduction: the "Terrible Lizards"

65 million years ago, an asteroid crashed into the world in what was known as the K-T event. this had mixed effects, but three main things arrived from it.

1.) mammals were able to establish dominance.

2.) the first 30 Draconequi were born from the resulting chaos

3.) the majority of dinosaurs died out

Now, it was established some time ago that birds are dinosaurs, but non-avian dinosaurs have clung to existence in parts of the world, competing with newer predators. some have feathers, others don't, but they all are still alive.

these posts will cover the known species of extant dinosaurs. they may be updated, so keep an eye out!

During the Jurassic period, Allosaurs were the dominant predators. these carnivores were smarter than the older ceratosaurs, and larger than the tyrannosaurs that had just began appearing.

but with the end of the Jurassic, they began declining, tyrannosaurs and abelisaurs becoming more dominant.

but they managed to cling on in remote corners of the world.

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ALLOSAURS

Burrunjor

Burrunjors are quick-footed predators native to Hosstralia that eat almost anything they can catch. Their diet includes fish, wallabies, wombats, jaculi, crocodiles, carrion, and drop bears. Sometimes, small groups of burrunjors will team up in attempts to take down larger and tougher animals, like Rainbow Serpents.

However, for unknown reasons, Burrunjors will refuse to eat the flesh of any sapient race. In fact, they are unconfirmed reports of Duskgem Dingoes managing to tame these creatures and use them as mounts.

However, burrunjors are very protective parents and will still chase off or even attack any living thing (including sentient creatures) if they perceive their young as being threatened. It is regarded that anyone stupid enough to try stealing a burrunjor's egg will get what's coming to them, mainly a slow and agonizing ordeal due to the infected bite of a mother burrunjor.

The Burrunjor's thunderous roar can be heard from over seven miles away.

Crab-Eater

Native to Skull Island, Aciedactylus specializes in eating shellfish in the swampy estuaries and mangroves. Broad, splay-toed feet keep the dinosaur from sinking into the sodden mud and sand, but its most peculiar adaptation is the second pair of nostrils mounted atop its triangular nasal crests.

Aciedactylus' primary nostrils can pinch shut when exhaling, forcing air into the resonating crests and small secondary nostrils to trumpet calls to one another. The main function of these secondary nostrils becomes clear during feeding. Sealing the primaries, Aciedactylus can breathe through the high-mounted secondary nostrils while most of its head is down in the shallow water or mud of the estuary, grubbing for shellfish.

Its teeth are short and thick for crushing mollusk and crab shells. The placid theropod instead defends itself with long bladelike claws on its fingers, flexing and brandishing them at potential threats to warn them away.

Ripper

Crenatosaurus is found within Concordia's winding canyons, where it lies as an ambush predator.

Claw Cutter

Native to Concordia, Pseudoallosaurus temnonychus gets its common name from the massive foot-long claws on each of its forelimbs. These claws, allied to massively powerful arm muscles - among the most powerful of any carnivorous dinosaur - do terrible damage, even more than the great jaws.

Venator

Native to the massive tepui complex in Tapiri known as Kaku Hidi, the Venator is the last of a unique lineage of allosaurs which adapted to the sudden dinosaur die-off Tapiri experienced by becoming smaller and faster, essentially attempting to become more dromaeosaur-like.

Venators mate for life, and viciously defend their territory from other large predators

Reaper

An unusual allosaur with maniraptoran-like claws, the Reaper is a native of Equus, found in various habitats ranging from the swamps of the Great Coastal Expanse to the mountain forests of North Griffonia, though on the whole the species seems to prefer heavily forested areas.

Solitary and territorial, Reapers are ambush predators who use their scythe-like claws in order to dispatch prey items.

These beasts are most closely related to the sapient Stone Cutters.

CARCHARODONTOSAURS

Feathershark

Native to the northern reaches of Equus, the Feathershark is a forest hunter, avoiding the open taiga and tundra

Ridgeback

Seen here cooling off in a pool, the ridgeback is a fierce hunter native to Saddle Arabia and Zebrica. This beast feeds on various large animals, and Zebrican populations will make forays into the jungles to hunt Mokele-Mbembe.

Sea Glutton

Ocegressusaurus is by far the largest of the ocean-going dinosaurs. This dinosaur, after millions upon millions of years of evolution, has become almost entirely aquatic, spending up to 95% of its life in the ocean and holding its breath for hours on end. The front limbs have become fully functional flippers for steering, as the hands and arms are not necessary for terrestrial locomotion in young. The animals legs however have changed comparatively little. It has webbing between its toes, and the dinosaur's hallux (the first small toe on the foot) has grown to about the size of the rest of the toes, allowing it to have more webbing. The legs have also gotten much smaller, no longer needing to support its massive bulk, and its tail has lengthened and grown much more paddle like, allowing it to propel itself forward with great speed. One of the reasons the dinosaur has not dis-adapted its feet altogether is that, much like a hippopotamus, it primarily will walk along the bottom in order to save a significant amount of energy. The animal also has an incredible sense of smell, able to smell prey from miles upon miles away. It is one of the top predators in its area, fearing nothing other then another sea glutton, but such a lofty spot on the food chain requires a massive amount of food. These animals are very territorial, and will attack anything that seems a threat, whether it is another sea glutton or other aquatic predator such as a scylla.

The reproductive cycle of this animal, despite it being huge and majestic, is quirky at best. A pregnant female, often accompanied by many other females, will travel to a large uninhabited island far from shore. This is where having legs is a relative convenience. Once they get to the shore, they awkwardly crawl up the beach on their stomach using their flippers and legs, a fairly long process. Once they are far enough from the ocean, they instinctively dig a small hole and lay 5 to 10 eggs, each about the size of a grapefruit. While their terrestrial counterparts are caring parents, staying with the young after birth, the sea glutton cannot afford to be. Due to its massive bulk, the animal can only be on land for a fairly short amount of time (around 8 hours) before their mass begins to ware them out, slowly suffocating them. Once the eggs have been laid, the females quickly sprawl their way back into the ocean, leaving the babies to their fate. After about 3 months, the surviving eggs hatch, generally at nighttime. At this stage of their live the babies have fairly long legs and can walk within minutes. At this point, the nymphs (named after the larvae of dragon flies, which follow an opposite growth cycle of aquatic to terrestrial life) race to find cover where ever possible in order to avoid being eaten by pterosaurs or even older nymphs. The nymphs then live the next four years of their life on the island, living on small prey and scavenging whatever the ocean spits up as they grow. These animals grow in a strange way however, while the rest of their body grows, sometimes up to 2.5 ft a year, the legs grow very slowly, and at about four years the nymphs are forced to crawl on the ground. At the end of four years the babies are 10 ft long, and the surviving nymphs, all crawling by this point, instinctively make their way to the ocean, where they will live most of the rest of their lives.

Shark-o-saur

Tyrannomendon is more amphibious than the sea glutton, cruising Tapiri's coastal swamps and going after prey on land.

Lemurian Gwangi

this strain of Allotyrannus is native to Lemuria (most likely brought there during the Lemurian's exploration age), where it is an unspecialized carnivore, dominating in the forested areas the larger abelisaurs have trouble moving in.

Gwangi

The largest of the two Allotyrannus species, these Concordian beasts rule the canyons of the country.

Crested King

A large native of Lemuria, the Crested King is a solitary hunter which uses its crests and frill in territorial displays.

Mountain Walker

A relatively small animal (roughly 20 feet long) with a sharply-pointed snout that gives its head a triangular profile. Its rock-climbing skills are far greater than those of its ancestral allosaur relatives.

Virtually no one can enter Concordia's valleys by land without having at least a single encounter with one or more of these predators. They roam the rocky slopes of the mountains, preying on lizards, snakes, pterosaurs and their eggs, raptors and other small predators, and several species of hypsilophodonts.

Although the scarcity of prey on the mountainsides often forces these dinosaurs to hunt alone, they have absolutely no trouble with working together when necessary to bring down larger game or a herd of small creatures. Family bonds are strong, with the young from one generation often hanging around to help raise their siblings from the next, and many packs are actually an extended family of three or more generations.

Cooperation between packs is common, with relatively bloodless ritual combat between pack leaders as a means to determine which pack must move on when there is a shortage of prey.

A favorite tactic of these creatures is to use their semi-grasping forepaws to shovel loose mountainside rubble in order to start an avalanche.

Song Hunter

Another Concordian dinosaur, Sirenisaurus macrolophus, the "big-crested siren lizard," gets its name from two prominent characteristics. The big crest is a weirdly-shaped hollow head crest, which it can use to imitate the calls of any type of duckbilled dinosaur dwelling in Storm Valley, while the "siren" part comes from the use it makes of this feature: to draw unwary duckbills to their doom.

This huge allosaur is a specialized hunter and slayer of hadrosaurs. The hollow head crest is filled with separate chambers, all of which can be sealed off at will via flaps of muscle. Using them, Sirenisaurus can not only imitate the calls of any duckbill, but it can even make itself sound at will like male or female, old or young, or even an injured animal. It can even differentiate between mating calls and bugles of alarm, as well as calls for help.

Siats

Feared by all living in Concordia, the Siats is well known as a horrifying ambush predator.

When attacking, the normal brown of these creatures flushes into a garish assortment of colors, making the beast appear like a monstrous clown.

Dracosaur

a fierce predator of the Badlands, these fire-breathing dinosaurs are considered very stubborn, unwilling to back away from larger, stronger predators

Gigantotyrannus

A massive predator of Concordia, this beast is a pack hunter which almost exclusively preys on the titanic Colossosaurs, stripping hunks of meat off of the still-living animals. However, they are also opportunistic hunters, attacking other prey items when hungry

GRENDELS

the Grendels (Monstruiguana species) are found throughout Khaan and some areas of Stirrope, with one species living on the island of Tartarus

Neighponese Grendel and Skunk Grendel

Despite its name, the Neighponese Grendel is found throughout Khaan. it is a mid-sized predator, but still the second largest of the Grendels.

Shown here about to be captured by the larger theropod, a skunk grendel resorts to its secret weapon; it expels a cloud of poisonous gas from its mouth, produced by specialized glands.

the skunk Grendel is native to Manechuria.

Tartarian Grendel

the largest of the Grendels, the Tartarian Grendel is large enough to openly compete with the island's tyrannosaurs.

2905838 Wunderbar!

2909808 adaptable little scrappers, aren't they?

2909808 Now featuring the Song Hunter